功能舉例題

　　這幾乎可以說是考研專屬的題型，四級和六級從來不會考到，因此同學在備考的時候要引起足夠的重視，每年都穩定在3個題目左右。它的核心在于考查文中提出到某個例子是何作用和功能。在題干中常常會看這樣的詞匯：提到，mention, note, cite；例子，example, case；作用，demonstrate, illustrate, justify, argue, make the point, talk about等。

　　這個題型的重點在知道功能和作用是源于例子，高于例子，例子本身的內容并不重要，因此，例子內部的細節如果在選項中出現，往往是我們首先排除的選項，重要的是要找到這個例子的點題句，答案往往就是它或是它的同義轉化。

　　(07-01-21)The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to

　　[A] stress the importance of professional training.

　　[B] spotlight the soccer superstars at the World Cup.

　　[C] introduce the topic of what makes expert performance.

　　[D] explain why some soccer teams play better than others.

　　Mention表明這是功能題。定位就是以soccer，birthday這個詞進行定位。因為是第一題，肯定是在前面。

　　If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006’s World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the late months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be ever more pronounced.

　　What might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses:

　　[A] certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills;

　　[B] winter born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina;

　　[C] soccer-mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania;

　　[D] none of the above.

　　可以看出，文章的整個第一段都是在討論有關足球的事情。說明這一整段都是例子本身，都不是要我們要關注的內容。

　　對比一下選項，可以發現，A，B，D中都是第一段細節的重現，professional training, World Cup, soccer等都是細節，直接排除，得到答案C。